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T O P I C R E V I E W

Rob Joyner

A big thanks to Al, Steve, Rex and the staff and volunteers at the U.S. Space Walk of Fame for creating such a wonderful show!I could only be there for the morning and afternoon on Saturday. Even if that was the entire show, I'd still say, "Wow!"Wish I could've stayed for everything. Can't wait hear how the rest of the weekend went!The two Mercury 13 ladies who attended, Jerrie Cobb and Rhea Woltman, were so friendly and personable. I even signed Ms. Cobb's petition to get her into space!Bill Dana. After talking with him I can see why he is still in demand. He's one of those guys who can make you laugh just by looking at you!Guenter Wendt is always a pleasure to see. This was the fourth time I met him. He showed me a lapel pin that John Young had given him a long time ago. Back then there were even space collectors. It seems that sometimes when astronauts would leave their coats or jackets unattended their lapel pins would disappear! Mr. Wendt remedied that by having the pin attached on top of what seemed to be a gold and onyx ring! He also let me hold the very first wristwatch taken to the surface of the Moon!If you had to fit any of the attendees into a no-nonsense category, that would include Tom Stafford and Dave Scott.I watched as Mr. Stafford gave an interview to what I assumed to be a local TV station crew. He answered all questions precisely and to the point.Mr. Scott seemed a bit businesslike. He would answer questions asked of him, but was otherwise a little quiet. He was, however, very meticulous when signing anything, taking great care to make sure you got everything exactly the way you wanted it and even though he was charging $150 per signature, he was signing a lot!By saying these men were 'businesslike' and 'no-nonsense' does not mean in any way they were rude or uncaring. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If you've ever had the opportunity to meet John Young or Story Musgrave, you know what I mean. They are serious men and there's nothing wrong with that!Then there's Al Worden. A complete turn around! I was thinking on my drive back home that if someone were to get Bill Dana, Al Worden and then Wally Schirra together you could make a hilarious remake of 'The Three Stooges In Orbit'! Mr. Worden is one of the funniest and animated men one could ever meet. And a very helpful one at that. I was wanting a certain photo of him to sign that would go along with others I have and were getting signed that day. But it wasn't on his table. He actually took the time to go search for one. He came back a few minutes later and told me he was pretty sure he'd have one for me and to check back later. Well, before I thought there had been ample time to return to Mr. Worden's table, his assistant found me and said Mr. Worden had something for me! I finished up my conversation and returned to his table where I found he had not only located the photo I was searching for, but had an original NASA litho and another photo it was taken from! He offered me either for the same price and, of course, I took the litho! What a great guy to go out of his way to do something like that!Charlie Duke is one of the most sincere, friendly and down to earth men you'll ever meet. It was like I was talking to my next door neighbor. This was the second time I met him, the first only a few weeks earlier at the AHOF Gala.I've met Ed Mitchell four times now. I guess I could say that he could be my other next door neighbor. He's a soft-spoken man and very easy to talk to.After I was finished getting all of the autographs I wanted, I took some photos, which I'll send to Robert, if he would like to post any on site. I then took about ten minutes of video of everyone and since there were three Moonwalkers there, I thought I'd ask each of them if they remembered their first words or thoughts as they first set foot upon the Moon. Mr. Mitchell responded by saying that he honestly didn't know and that they were both, he and Shepard, just concentrating on staying alive! Mr. Duke thought for a few seconds and said he didn't really remember either and that he thinks he said something like 'Wow'. He continued that he and Young were just glad to finally be there after being six hours late!Mr. Scott thought for a second and then said, "I think I said..." He then looked at the camera and asked if I was recording and I replied that I was. He then smiled, almost seeming embarrassed, and kind of turned away from the camera, still smiling. Another fan there at the table who had just gotten some things signed said jokingly, "We're finally here!" and as everyone was laughing Mr. Scott added, "Did you leave the door open, Jim?!" and "You remembered to bring the keys, didn't you, Jim?!"Yuri Usachev was the very first cosmonaut I've met. When I told him that, he responded, "I guess I'm your Yuri Gagarin!" We both laughed out loud at that one!I met Jack Lousma at last year's AHOF Induction Gala when he told me about the mission patches with the names of the astronaut's wives that flew with them aboard his SkyLab mission. He's a very nice guy and looks like he still works out at the gym. He was seated with Paul Weitz, whom I met at the 2001 Gala. We talked a lot about personal stuff like where we live, etc. and also the differences between being launched on a Saturn 1B and the Space Shuttle. He's very personable and talks to you like he's known you all your life. Among other things, he signed a photo of the STS-6 crew, Challenger's first mission. He said all of the first shuttle missions had letter designations and STS-6 was 'F'. Being fans of the TV show 'F Troop', the crew took two different photos of them dressed in calvary uniforms, complete with swords and guns. He said that NASA was not pleased at all! After I left for the day I went to Kennedy Space Center where I got the astronaut of the day, Don Peterson, to also sign it.I was very lucky to get it as Mr. Peterson was just wrapping up his last Astronaut Encounter talk of the day. Not wanting to sign in view of the public, he took me to what I call the Astronaut Ready Room where the astronauts hang out before they appear on stage. He said he would've liked to have been at the Air & Space Show too.I asked him if he remembered his first words or thoughts after being one of the first astronauts along with Story Musgrave to space walk from a shuttle. He said that he really didn't and that the both of them were more interested in making certain that their spacesuits were working properly, being the very first time the suits were used in space!Saturday was a wonderful day and for those of you who couldn't be there, I hope this will at least give you an idea of what it was like! I met Linn LeBlanc, Brenda and her husband, Jurg, Rob S. and a few of the 'usual suspects' and hope to meet more of you at the next big event.If you are interested in knowing what autographs I got, then go to the Autograph section here on cS. I think it's safe to say there will definitely be more Air & Space Shows to come!Rob

[This message has been edited by Rob Joyner (edited May 23, 2004).]

Steve Zarelli

Rob -

Thanks for your ringing endorsement, and I hope all the attendees had a great time. 95% of the credit and hard work goes to Al Hallonquist... I just rode his coattails.

Saturday morning was a blur for me as I worked the front door and greeted the initial flood of people. It was nice seeing the excitement and expectation in peoples' eyes as they entered the room and got a glimpse of the array of heroes.

My only wish is that I had the time to peruse some of the items (bargains) available before they were all scooped up. (I'm still cursing MINT for buying a A-15 CP signed by Irwin and Worden inscribed "To Steve"... of course Scott completed it and the total cost was about half price for what you'd expect for a CP. THANKS for looking out for me MINT... PAL !! :-0)

It was a pleasure working with all the guests and I hope to do it again... but even better next time.

I'm sure Al will check in when he finishes business and gets back home.

[This message has been edited by Steve Zarelli (edited May 24, 2004).]

Rob Sumowski

Hi Friends:

Gilbert Huey and I drove down for the Air & Space show on Friday evening after work. We shared a room with pal Jimmy Brown. Al & Steve did some really nice work- Here's my take:

The signing went off as planned on Saturday morning at the Space Walk of Fame Museum in a little mall. The setting was kind of humble as the museum is searching for new digs and in the middle of a major fundraising campaign. These folks have some wonderful displays and artifacts. When they reach their final goals for exhibit space, lay-out, etc., this will be, without a doubt, an absolutely first-class museum. I can’t wait to watch it grow.

Tables were set at reasonable distances from each other which prevented both overcrowded lines bumping into each other and the sardine experience, which was welcomed by the attendees.

It was great to see at least three first-time public signing participants: Al Worden, Dave Scott, and Jack Lousma. All of these were big names and the experience was great. Worden was a hoot…just so darned personable and friendly to everyone he met…I love this guy. Lousma was super-friendly and still has a handshake that could crush a steel beer can with ease. Rev. Charlie Duke-always the consummate gentleman- kind and warm.

A word about the representatives and surcharges: Victoria was really wonderful in helping with Col. Scott. Gregg Linebaugh helped with Stafford and assured everything was done perfectly. Linn LeBlanc was there with Mitchell and it was great to see her…we had a nice visit with each other.

I STRONGLY applaud both the following astronauts and their representatives: Worden, Stafford, Duke, and Mitchell for this: At this signing, these fellows and their representatives seemed to loosen up their extra fees for add-ons, types of items (photo vs. model), and inscriptions a bit. For the first time in a long time, I did not feel nickeled and dimed. There was no obsessive counting of how many signatures one had on a piece or whom had previously signed it…what a nice surprise. I didn't feel like I was appearing before a judge. This was a real pleasure. Worden and Stafford (and Gregg) seemed to me to be extremely reasonable with this. Sure, there were some surcharges, but many less than I had expected. I welcomed this and appreciated this. I offer a hardy THANK YOU to these folks.

It's nice to feel like one isn't on trial awaiting a verdict while presenting an item for a signature at an astronaut signing. Thanks again for this, because I felt respected. And this means a lot to people.

Sunday was slower, as we had pretty much done all the damage to our wallets that we could accomplish on Saturday. Folks hung around, took photos, and had conversations between getting things signed. The atmosphere was very relaxed.

I’m really glad I went. Thank you, Al and Steve. What a collector-friendly AND astronaut-friendly experience this was!

Rob

Steve Zarelli

quote:Originally posted by Rob Sumowski:For the first time in a long time, I did not feel nickeled and dimed. There was no obsessive counting of how many signatures one had on a piece or whom had previously signed it…what a nice surprise. I didn't feel like I was appearing before a judge. This was a real pleasure.

I’m really glad I went. Thank you, Al and Steve. What a collector-friendly AND astronaut-friendly experience this was!

Thanks again Rob, it was good to see you (and Anne Marie says "Hi.")

We have no control over the guests prices, but we did make an effort to encourage them to be as reasonable as possible, and suggest things like personalizations should be free. I think many astros are coming around to the fact that their signature isn't going to make a whopping difference in the value of most multisigned items. There is a difference between a rare crew completion signature, and simply adding a signature to a book that already has a number of signatures. Some signers get too hung up on "what will my signature make it "worth?"" and this is most punitive to the vast majority of fans who have no intent of selling the item... but I think (hopefully) many are drifting away from the "tack on" fee mania.

We made a conscious effort to arrange the guests in a way to avoid overcrowding or bunching in certain areas. (Late Friday night we were walking around shuffling name tags on tables until we got a layout we thought would best spread out the crowd.) I'm happy to report, I think it worked well :-)

There was the constant sound of laughter and the flash of bulbs in the room, so I think that's a good indicator people were having a good time and getting quality face time with the guests. :-)

[This message has been edited by collectSPACE Admin (edited May 24, 2004).]

4allmankind

I had a wonderful time also. All I could have dreamed of and more. My thanks to you guys for organizing such a great event.

I met a bunch of nice collectors- What a great hobby.

Jay in NJ

sikotic19

I wasn't expecting to be able to make it to the show, but a friend of mine happened to be moving from Tampa to Atlanta this weekend. His offer to pay for my gas and a free place to stay Friday and Saturday night let me make last minute plans to attend. So I drove down to Tampa friday night and spent the late evening packing a truck. Saturday morning I drove to the show and it was great. Unfortunately, as soon as I got there I realized I'd forgot my camera. I only got to spend about an hour and a half there but everyone was very friendly and there wasn't more than a five minute wait for anyone. I didn't get autographs from everyone so I didn't talk to them all. From the other comments I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to Al Worden, and I know from previous experience that both Guenter Wendt and Bill Dana are great fun to talk to. They always have the best stories to tell, but I was on a tight timeline and didn't get a chance to talk to them. Tom Stafford's helper Gregg was great, and I was grateful for the relaxed prices from him. Charlie Duke I've met a few times now and he was as gracious as always. Yury Usachev seemed as excited to be there as some of the guests and he enjoyed looking at some of the things brought to him. I got him to sign a panarama of Mars in my book since the Russians have always been so especially fascinated by it and he did seem to enjoy looking at it. He's the first cosmonaut I've met and I hope any others I meet are half as nice. Dave Scott was very polite and Victoria was gracious and kept things moving very smoothly with his requests. I had meant to ask him how many 2 dollar bills had been flown on Apollo 15 and in the excitement of the moment forgot all about it. Jack Lousma is very personable and a joy to talk to. He does talk to everyone as if he's known them for years and he seemed to take a great interest in some of the things brought to him to sign. He leafed through my Nasa book for five minutes looking at other autographs in it and commenting on pictures he saw. I also noticed both he and Dave Scott took the time to stand up every time someone went to shake their hand. I thought that was very classy and wasn't expecting it. A real gentlemanly thing to do. Paul Weitz I met in Washington last year, so I did get him to sign a photo, but being on such a short timeline I didn't really talk to him much this time around. Jerrie Cobb and Rhea Woltman were very friendly and I had a great conversation with Ms. Cobb about us both being military brats and various places we've lived. I got both of them to sign my Nasa book and also got a copy of Solo Pilot. I wanted to get a copy of the Mercury 13 book too, but I ran out of money, so that's when I left. On my way out I stopped to talk to Ken Havekotte and got him to appraise my Nasa book that I collect in. Ken, I want to thank you for your insight. I repeated some of your comments to my wife and it made her gripe a little less about the money I spend on my hobby so for that I thank you. Unfortunately I had to leave far too early to go slave away the rest of the weekend to pay for my trip, but I did have a great time the short time I was there.Thanks to everyone who put this together. Hopefully next year I'll be better prepared.

Regards,Geoff

James Brown

I too had a great time. Al and Steve put together a really good show that I hope will continue again next year. It's always fun to attend events such as this. Rob, Gilbert, and I shared a room together. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. We went out to dinner Saturday night where Dennis Hembree, his wife Cher, and Jurg Bolli met up with us. Finally got to put names and faces together which was nice. Tom Edmunds, Brenda, Matt, and others. So many, I can't remember everyone.

I had some photos and books signed. Now I need to start saving for LA.

I was able to pick up 12 more shuttle medallions for my Robbins collection, including 51-L. Now I need 4 more to complete the set.

I will post some photos from the show soon. Looking forward to next year's show.

James

Gilbert

The two Rob's captured the show with their excellent posts. I'd like to say that I had a great time. The event was well organized, the guests seemed to enjoy thmeselves, and I know the attendees enjoyed themselves. The lower than expected prices was a nice surprise. Al, Steve, and all the other volunteers did a fantastic job. A++

OPOS

Well, now that I am back in PA, I can relax after a very busy weekend! What a great time!! I was one of the (VERY!) fortunate people to tour KSC with Yury Usachev and others. And what a tour! Riding to the fifth floor of the VAB! (OK, so It is only 1/5 of the way up....still...way cool!). Hanging around under Discovery in the OPF. Man, I must say those tile workers do a very precise and careful job. They were all very tickled when they realized who Yury was, and there were pictures all around. (I sent Rob a couple of pics of us right in front of the orbiter, with the nose piece off and the landing gear doors open). Off to launch pad 39A, where we really got to ride on and over it! Some great photo's taken there by Randy Segal thanks to Al Hallonquists trusty 35mm!Our KSC guide, Scott Vangen, then took us to the relativly new life Space Life Sciences Lab, where we got to see some cutting edge, Mars-oriented plant development projects. We then returned to the main visitors center where we met up with my family and John Masters (A real world class guy!) and took in the Space Station 3D film. This film, of course, features Yuri as the expedition II commander, and it was very funny to see people around us look at the screen and then back at Yuri and say to themselves....."wait a minute......" Yuri then said he wanted to go to the space shop for "just five minutes"....HA! As we all know (As does Yuri now)...that 5 minutes there is never enough! He said so himself, after seeing all the patches and movies and books (Yuri also was hit up by a number of families for photos and autos).This was just about the perfect day. My son Nick, who could not go on the tour (only 10), now has a new hero in Yuri Usachev (followed closely by British "Constable" John Masters, a dead ringer for Tim Roth!)Randy Segal, a local radio personality was our "chaperone" and was a gracious and knowledgable person. Most importantly, Mad props go to "DA MAN", Al Hallonquist, who managed to pull this whole thing together. Thank you Al, you made our weekend as enjoyable as could be!

I think Rob and Steve have covered the show at the Walk of Fame pretty well, so I'll not bore you. Met and Re-met some great people this weekend, including Gary Clarke, Jurg Bolli, Steve Zarelli, Jimmy Brown,, Gilbert, and Ken Havekotte. Spent a memorable evening with Rob "your too skinny" Sumowski, Jimmy Brown, Jurg and Gilbert just talking about our passion. Al Worden was an absolute fantastic guy, would like to spend more time with him. Charlie Duke, as usual, was great with my kids, and he's such a darn nice guy! Talking with Scrappy Johnson was also a thrill, you would never guess he's 84!Oh yeah...saw "Mint" as well....

Again, Major props to Al and Steve for pulling this off. lets hope the second annual Air and Space show happens, as I will certainly be there!

Tom Edmonds

James Brown

Some photos from the show:

Jack Lousma and Paul Weitz

Yuri Usachev and Guenter Wendt

Charlie Duke

Dave Scott

Tom Stafford

Bill Dana

James

OPOS

Here are some assorted photos of our trip to KSC with Yuri...

Tom Edmonds

[This message has been edited by collectSPACE Admin (edited May 26, 2004).]

albatron@aol.com

Sorry for the delay in posting gang, as you can imagine Im still up to my elbows in alligators. Before I go on, Id like to thank Steve (SAZ Dude ) for all of his help with the show. He modestly credits me with too much. SAZ dude - without your help this would not have done well at all or even have been brought to fruition. Thank you.

There are now - and will be some items on Astro Auction (and possibly elsewhere) so keep an eye peeled there. Some of the items will be from Yury who has asked me to help him.

So here is what I posted to our group - hopefully it helps describe the events. Thanks to all who helped by attending - and to all who helped - and to all who spread the word. And thanks too for all the postings so far.

..............

Ladies and Gents,

I am proud to say I am safely intact after one of the most fantastic weekends ever. Tired. Exhausted. But with a HUGE smile on my face. I am prejudiced, but............I truly think this was the best show ever. Oh sure, a few glitches here and there, but nothing major and not one thing that detracted from the experience. I am still compiling photos from the show, so if anyone has some they would kindly share I would be honored.

Not to mention some wonderful staff members of the Space Walk of Fame (SWOF). What a tremendous job they do with this Museum. If you missed this show, the biggest reason you should be sad is this Museum.

And, I would also like to publically thank my co producer, Steve Zarelli. He is humble, and says I take 95% of the credit but no this is not so. Steve did a ton of work, and the things he DID do, were so monumental it would have literally been impossible to do without his help. Thank you Steve - you're a gem, and Anne Marie! What a hottie. ;0)

There was a Friday night cocktail reception on Friday night at the SWOF itself. This was not open to the public, but was for volunteers, workers, local dignitaries and so forth. It was nice leaning against Al Shepards Corvette eating the hot chicken dip. <G> But really it was a lot of fun, and quite a lot of locals showed up for it. A great time to see the Mercury 4 hatch recently discovered in a local junkyard, in a beautiful mounted display. Sounds tacky at first but thats an example of the neat stuff thats there, a true piece of history. The point being, in that area, you never know what you'll find. The artifacts are tremendous and there is so much in this Museum that annotates the early space history, a lot of stuff from the old space workers personal collections.

Sat AM, we open the doors at 10AM. People began to flow in, and it didnt slow down all day. No crowds per se, but the way the room was set up - there could be a lot of folks and not be crowded. Traffic was brisk all day and the reports I got post show from the astronauts were, was that they were all VERY happy with their personal results. Most of them personally indicated to me that they enjoyed it immensley - the atmosphere was relaxed but controlled - and they enjoyed the interaction with the public very much. I think it is important to remember they enjoy interacting with the public and their fan base.

The Saturday night cocktail party was filled of course, it sold out early. Another great venue to mix and mingle - all in a relaxed manner. You are all among the first to see this photo. I suspect it is one many will not expect to see. http://members.aol.com/albatron/asa.jpg

After the party, the banquet happened. The astronauts signed some models, which were put up on a silent/live auction which fetched (and Im shooting from the hip) an additional $7500 for the SWOF. Bill Dana was introduced by the best MC of the night.......<G> and he was HILARIOUS! To all who were there, we have a new hero: "Chicken Terriyaki". Ask someone who was there who that is. Bill called Guenter to the front, and he nearly upstaged the program!

Then Sunday - back to the grind. Not as brisk as the day before but still pretty steady.

Now, on a personal note, I picked Yury up on Wednesday night (along with John Masters) and we retired to my house until Friday AM. Yury and I became good friends last year when we met at Autografica. Our friendship grew over the year, and when he exited the gate when John and I picked him up it was with great affection we met. John was there and witnessed it too. It is difficult to describe how close we became, and how much he means to me as my "Bro from Ro", with me being his "Bro from Flo". <G> To me, the show was fabulous - I enjoyed spending time with my close friends Al Worden and Paul Weitz, developing new friendships with Jack Lousma and others, especially Bill Dana; but my Yury time was special. John and I mentioned driving back after dropping him at the airport how much we missed him already. A finer person and FUNNIER person, you will not find. To my brother Yury (I am copying this to him):

THANK YOU! ;0)

Sunday night we wanted to spend some time alone, so Randy Segal, John, Yury and I went to ...............well, of course. Its an American tradition............ HOOTERS! After some vino - I told Yury we should try for a free meal. I pointed out how they like to take pictures of celebrities with the girls and put them up around the restaurants. So I said, lets try a scam to which Yury enthusiastically joined in. The waitress (her name was Destiny - imagine the possibilities we didnt use...<G> ) came up - I asked her if they still liked to do the picture gig. She said sure, did I know a celeb? Certainly I say and introduce her to Yury Usachev, Russian Comsonaut and "Hero of Russia"!!!! Shes polite and says thanks pleased to meet you - and walks away. Goes over to the counter and I can see her smirking and so forth. I go out to the car, and bring in his portrait picture and show it to her. NOW shes wide eyed, runs back to the counter and huddles all the girls up and points. So each waitress makes a point of walking by and brushing against him (no - with arms) and of course the stares......... after our dinner, they do a group photo - and we still pay the bill. <G> Oh well, it was fun. Anyway, here is Yury - Hero of Russia (but more importantly MY hero) participating in Russian - American relations and at his best:http://members.aol.com/albatron/yh.jpg

Thanks to all who helped, who participated, and more so, attended - for making this a HUGE success.

Jurg Bolli

Hi,I came back from a week in FL on Tuesday. Like everybody else I had a great time as well, no regrets at all about the $ spent, and it was great putting faces and names together. The astronauts were all friendly, some more than others, but Al Worden certainly was the funniest.Overall a very excellent adventure.Jurg

Ken Havekotte

It was a great show for Titusville's first Air & Space Autograph Show this May 22-23 and my thanks to Al H. and the SWOF for inviting my company to participate as a supporting sponsor. Half of our sale proceeds were donated to the SWOF Museum from the 2-day show. I would like to thank all of those fine folks who took time to stop by our tables and say hello. Many of those included space memorabilia appraisals; Geoff's NASA book signed by dozens and dozens of astronauts was an interesting appraisal for me (well done, Geoff, and keep on signing...) and, inparticular, it was good seeing another Apollo 1 crew-signed 8x10 lithro (not a glossy) that was hand-signed in red ink to a former Apollo/GE worker. Thanks to all the others that stopped by and please forgive me for not listing all the names of everyone that managed to see us (my wife, Theresa, and our good friend Tyrone Karow from Canada). We all certainly had a good time and enjoyed seeing everyone, especially our good friends Charlie Duke, Guenter Wendt, seeing Ed Mitchell again, Paul Weitz and Jack Lousma for stopping by and for signing my large Saturn 1B interstage hardware piece...and for cosmonaut Yuri Usachev for seeing us as it was a pleasure to talk "space" with him and have him read/translate some Russian for us. Never had a chance to visit with Dave Scott as we were so busy, mostly on Saturday, but Victoria Campbell of Aurora did stop by and examine one of my space memorabilia showcases. Victoria--it was a pleasure in finally getting to meet you--and thanks for having Col. Scott sign a few things for me. Gregg Linebaugh was there with Gen. Stafford, however, I was disappointed that Gregg seemed distant even though we haven't spoken in so many years. We had a long friendship for decades, but, people and situations have changed, unfortunately. As for the general, it was good to see him again along with a close mutual friend of ours. Looking forward to a second air/space autograph show and for those who couldn't attend this showing, please make plans to attend next year once a decision/plans have been determined. Overall, a tip of the hat to our good friend Al H., his staff, and to everyone at the SWOF Museum (especially Karen, Charlie, John, Bonnie, and so many others that I've had the pleasure to work so closely with during the last few weeks). It was great!

albatron@aol.com

Ken - thank you for your wonderful post and kind words. I haven't had a chance to sit down and add more to my posting about your presence - as well as Al Wittnebert. Not enough time (and Im in Titusville as we speak briefly doing some after action things).

But folks, Ken alone is worth the trip to our show. A more knowledgable person in this field does not exist, no more with as much integrity. Ken, thanks for the help with the listing I gave you and it was great fun to get a chuckle out of that von Braun preprint. As always a pleasure to see you and your lovely bride.

Also Al Wittnbert from the UACC came and put on his awesome Autograph Authetication Course on Sunday. Al is a dear friend and I only wish I had time to sit through the course. The best in the business. He reports great attendance to that and after all - thats what we are here for - to help folks in this arena. Right?

Cheers to you Ken and Al.

Al

jm6662

Right I think I'm just about recovered from my flight back to the UK!

First off can I just publicly thank Al H for his hospitality and friendship. The mans generosity knows no bounds and I feel privileged to know him and to call him my friend. Thanks Al for everything, luckily my suitcase was just under my maximum weight allowance, I don't know how <LOL>.Can I also publicly thank Al's wife, Lynette, and family for putting up with me during my visit. Thanks everyone, and Al you've a fantastic family of which I'm sure you're very proud, it showed.

A special mention to Randy Segal, a real gentleman, thanks for your time Randy.

Most of my trip and the details of the show have already been mentioned by Al in his post so I cant add much more.

It was great to meet with so many of the list members and it was nice to finally put some faces to names.Matt Scherzi, Mike Quinn good to meet you guys. Bill and Vicki O'Donnell, Gary and Julie Clarke, Kevin and Cathy Taylor ( Fellow Brits), Steve Z and his better half, Dr Pete, Linn LeBlanc, Karen, Ken Havecotte, Tom Edmonds and Family...the list goes on and I'm sorry if I've left anyone out. Thanks everyone you made my stay really enjoyable. Please look me up if you get over to blighty.

And a quick appeal if any of you have any photos from the show could you email me copies as I didn't get to take many, Ta!

What can I say about the trip, well Yury (as you all probably know) was in my charge during the show. He was the most unassuming bloke you would ever want to meet and his modesty for what he had achieved was amazing to me.

Everyone that came to our table was really appreciative of him making the journey over, which was all due to Al H's efforts, and he was touched by the affection shown towards him.

On a personal note I kept having to pinch myself to make sure I was really there in company not only with Yury but all the other guests.

As many of you may already know I have had the honour of meeting Al Worden before and it was great to see him again and catch up since last we met.

I could go on for hours but it would start to get a bit boring as most has already been covered.

May I just add that EVERYONE I met made me feel welcome and made my trip very special, memories I shall cherish for a long, long time.

I'm sure I don't speak out of turn when I say THANK YOU from Yury to all that made the effort to come and speak to him and make his trip over from Moscow so worthwhile.

Thanks again everyone and most of all thanks to Al, Lynette and family.

See you all sometime in the future, with luck at the next Air & Space Show.